Hello to all, I want to raise chickens and don't know the first thing abou it. which ones should I get for good eggs and of course the ole rooster. where is the best place to keep them,do they need shots or special medical needs,what kind of food anything ya'll can tell me will help.
How to raise chicken by a newbie!
Everyone has their own idea of which chickens are the best, and I'm sure you'll get a lot of different suggestions. I like Buff Orpingtons especially well. They are calm, friendly chickens that lay big light brown eggs. The hens get heavy enough that flying isn't a problem (although the chicks can get airborne.) They are rather talkative which might be a problem in suburbia, but I find it endearing. The only problem I've had with them is that they are very meek and can be bullied by more assertive breeds. (My barred Rocks mug them regularly.)
New chicks often are vaccinated for Marek's disease and other than that none of my chickens has been immunized.
I feed my chicks a "Starter - Grower" ration. When the pullets start to lay I change to a "Laying" feed. They'll love to run loose in your yard if practical but will need a predator-proof coop for at night.
Unless you want fertile eggs/baby chicks, you don't need a rooster, the girls will lay anyway.
Welcome to the forum and the wonderful world of chickens!
Hi Phyllis,
You sound a lot like me a few years ago. I ended up with silkie chickens for several different reasons. I think they are pretty. They don't fly, so no going over the fence, and they are friendly and not too big. Silkies have blue skin and flesh, so they are not popular birds to eat in America, though in Asia I think they are considered a delicacy.
As far as feeding them, mine eat table scraps and they free range in my backyard. They have a small coop, 4X8 and 3 feet tall, that I made myself with wood and "hardware cloth". For chickens that like to roost high when they sleep you would need a taller coop. I let them out in the morning and lock them up at night. They eat grass and bugs and seeds and things in the backyard. I also give them food from the feed store. They have chicken scratch, which is a combination of grains, they also sell chicken crumble and layer pellets that I am aware of. Any of those are good as far as I know, though I prefer the kind without GMO. The 50 lbs of scratch costs about $9 here. I think the layer pellets are $12.
Depends on where you live and your individual taste in chickens. Are you growing them for meat, or just eggs. What color eggs you want and what size? The maran chickens lay a dark brown egg that just looks gorgeous almost like dark chocolate. They are very popular right now. My silkies lay a small beige egg, but they are wonderful! In the summer the yoke is so dark orange, it's just incredible. I think so much healthier than store bought.
I love to sit in the backyard and watch them.
I'm sure people on here can help you further. I wouldn't have chickens if it wasn't for the people here.
I do suggest though, getting good quality birds to start with. I made the mistake of buying from a hatchery, and that was ok for me, but now I want a better show quality type of chicken. I would have been better off buying them to begin with, but I still love my little hatchery chickens. They are my babies. Believe me, they are so much FUN to watch and raise, and it's not difficult.
I am reletively new, but being in your position recently i can share a few things to keep in mind that i have learned .. Keeping chickens will always be easier than you could imagine... also more rewarding than you would ever think possible. ( so far - i havn't walked through the january snow and ice to gather eggs yet).. I don't know how big a flock, or if you live in the burbs like me, or out in the sticks. The coop was the hardest thing for me to pick - so many sizes, so many styles... they all seem to work.. It appears to be only a matter of taste and your do it yourself skill level.
i have a black sexlink, Buff orpington, two white silkies (1 is a rooster - oops) and a black silkie. They are all great. silkie eggs are the size of a golf ball - and they are the friendliest things ever as well as the slowest. we have hawks and eagles and i am glad we have plenty of tree cover . (until fall) the silkies appeared at first to be pretty dumb - we named one dumdum and the rooster silkie is named spaz. turns out that they are just very shy and only a little dumb and the most adorable things on this planet.
the buff and black sexlink are Extremely chatty and full of differing personalities, but actually learned their names and come when they are called. They are a great size and lay large to XL eggs.. mild temper birds but i have no fear they can take care of themselves. the sexlink chases the squirrels and seagulls and loves it.
i hope this helps a little..
-joe-
Make sure you get at least three. "Straight run" means you get roosters, so if you order them, be sure and get pullets (unless you want roosters, of course). Check out varieties at http://www.randallburkey.com/Chicks/products/443/1/0 if you're going to mailorder them and I've had a lot of luck at www.backyardchickens.com for all kinds of ideas.
eggbid.com sellls hatching eggs and poultry. It runs kind of like ebay.
it takes some research to know who has quality chickens.
Also, you might get a book, Storey's "Guide to Raising Chickens". I can't rave about it, but it made me feel more comfortable.
.. everything the chickens need is in the pellet food. most people i know around here keep them in a fenced run and let them into the yard when they get home from work. at night the chickens go naturally into the coop and the doors are locked until the morning.
how many chickens were you thinking about?
I`m so glad you found this forum,I started out like you not knowing anything about raising chickens got my first ten day old chicks from my milling company,5 golden comets and 5 black sexlinks and one rooster.I had a small playhouse that my granddaughters didn`t play in anymore that I used to a coop.The babies went in a big cardboard box with a heat lamp attaced to it for warmth as they need to be kept at 90 degress or so for the first week and then lower the temp as time goes on.They started laying at about four months.It gets reallly cold here down below zero some nights so I needed a heat lamp for mine as the playhouse was not insulated.I now have a new insulated coop and almost 40 chickens and I love it,I sell eggs to pay for there feed.I allso have silkies and five brand new babies from them.I can`t tell you how much I enjoy just sitting and watching them it is so calming,my dh likes them as much as I do.He is always doing things for me in the coop and helps me when we need to do something to them.My intentions was to put them in the freezer when they did not produce anymore but dh has made pets out of them and would not eat them,so I guess they will just die of old age.I can`tell you how helpful this forum has been for me,I had noone else to go to for information.Books are helpful but it was better for me to talk to somone.Welcome to the forum!!
Welcome Phyllis! This is a good place to get information from, and people here have a sense of humor too. One forum I belong to is way too serious. I don't have chickens, I will be getting ducks this spring
Green04735 said 'Books are helpful but it was better for me to talk to somone.' I totally agree, I have found books can only give so much information but everyday experience is even better. I have learned a lot about ducks here (mostly good, the one bad thing is how messy they are) and am still going to get them....lol.
Thank y'all for all the info. I was amazed at all the replies. I'm thinking 5 hens and I'm not sure about a rooster,but I like the barred rocks,orpingtons and the americaunas. Anyone have any opinions on which ones are better layers? The web sites that you sent was very helpful on seeing all the different kinds I did not realize there was that many the only ones I was familiar with was the Rhode Island Reds and the white ones you see on T.V. I'm so excited about this adventure and can't wait to get my first chickens and again thank you and I'm sure I'll be asking for a lot of info. so be prepared for some dumb questions.
Hi Phyllis: I'm Haystack, welcome to the forum. Trust me there are no dumb questions, so just ask away. These kids on this forum really know their stuff. I hope you'll enjoy them and the fun we all share. Your in for a real treat. So buckle up and hang on, your in for a real adventure. Haystack.
I have an orpington, never had any of the others.. she is not as productive as my other hens, pretty much 4 eggs per week (she is young) But she is reliable,extremely personable, and the eggs are big. if I had room for more I would get barred rocks, and another orpington.. I think you mad a great choice, but think about the rooster as they tend to get up early and some crow away like the energizer bunny without a snooze alarm. I do have one and wouldn't get rid of him, but he is a silky and not nearly as loud as larger breeds and a different pitch that doesn't carry very far - usually can't hear him too well though closed windows.
-joe-
Thanks jjconcepts, when the coop is finished I'll post pic's. There's no telling when that will be. How long do eggs last?
They last a long time. onse you wash them they must be refrigerates. There is an oil or come other protective layer that seals them. I often gather eggs every few days. sometimes I will go away for the weekend and have four days worth of eggs when i get home monday evening. I gather them up wash them and drop them in the fridge. with the five birds it is 3-4 eggs per day every day.
this is my coop before we painted and lined the inside with laminate flooring for easier cleaning.. it can be as simple as an XL doghouse from walmart (there are inexpensive ones out there) or a small shed - easy to get in and out of, and the girls can stay inside when weather is crappy.
mine is a rabbit hutch modified. to hold chickens.
the three silkies lived in the small dog carrier in the lower right corner for about two months until we got the larger one built.. they did fine, but we are now up to five birds.
-joe-